Al Leong: Hollywood's Number One Henchman
Ranked #14,141 in Entertainment, #157,221 overall
Chances are, you know this guy...
Maybe you didn't know his name, but you know his face from somewhere. That shiny forehead; that long black hair; that magnificent Fu Manchu. Did you see him alongside Mel Gibson once? Or was it with Bruce Willis perhaps? No, wait... Keanu Reeves? Kurt Russell? Arnold Schwarzenegger? Eddie Murphy? Van Damme? Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?
The answer is Yes. All of the above.
In the late 80's and early 90's, Al Leong carved a niche for himself as Hollywood's number one henchman. If you were an arch villain and you needed the some hired kung-fu muscle to round out your team of bad guys, Al Leong was your man. In his small-but-memorable roles, he never spoke much. He didn't have to... he had an Uzi.
This page celebrates the unmistakable, the inimitable, Mister Al Leong.
The answer is Yes. All of the above.
In the late 80's and early 90's, Al Leong carved a niche for himself as Hollywood's number one henchman. If you were an arch villain and you needed the some hired kung-fu muscle to round out your team of bad guys, Al Leong was your man. In his small-but-memorable roles, he never spoke much. He didn't have to... he had an Uzi.
This page celebrates the unmistakable, the inimitable, Mister Al Leong.
Is that Snickers I smell?
The Mysterious Mister Leong
One of the first things a fan tends to notice upon digging for information about Al Leong is that there is none! A few sneaking tidbits gleaned from fan pages and forums let on that he was born in the USA in September, 1952. He is clearly a trained stuntman and martial artist (though trained by whom, no one seems to know). He is apparently adept at Lion Dancing, and to his friends he is known as Al "Ka Bong" (though why, no one seems to know). He made his directorial debut in 2000 with Daddy Tell Me a Story, and he lives in Burbank, CA.I would love to provide you with a more extensive biography but Al Leong, it seems, is as private and enigmatic as the characters he so brilliantly portrayed.
Take *THAT*, random good guy!
So where have I seen Al Leong?
In Die Hard, Al was Uli - the terrorist who stole a snickers bar shortly before gunning down an entire SWAT team.
As Endo in Lethal Weapon, he tortured a chained-up Mel Gibson with electric paddles and a bucket of water (a scene later hilariously recreated by Fox's Family Guy).
You might also know him as an out-of-time Genghis Khan, chopping up shop store mannequins in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. He was the training master in The Scorpion King, and a member of the Wing Kong gang in Big Trouble in Little China.
Other movie appearances include The Last Action Hero, Godzilla, Beverly Hills Cop 3, Rapid Fire, and Action Jackson (Fast, Faster, Fastest anyone?).
If you've somehow missed his film appearances (for example, if you have spent the past three decades in an ice cave in deepest Siberia), you may have seen him on TV instead. Al has appeared in 24, Deadwood, The Twilight Zone, The Fall Guy, TJ Hooker, The A Team, Magnum PI, and even That 70's Show.
A full list of Al Leong's roles can be found on his Internet Movie Database page.
As Endo in Lethal Weapon, he tortured a chained-up Mel Gibson with electric paddles and a bucket of water (a scene later hilariously recreated by Fox's Family Guy).
You might also know him as an out-of-time Genghis Khan, chopping up shop store mannequins in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. He was the training master in The Scorpion King, and a member of the Wing Kong gang in Big Trouble in Little China.
Other movie appearances include The Last Action Hero, Godzilla, Beverly Hills Cop 3, Rapid Fire, and Action Jackson (Fast, Faster, Fastest anyone?).
If you've somehow missed his film appearances (for example, if you have spent the past three decades in an ice cave in deepest Siberia), you may have seen him on TV instead. Al has appeared in 24, Deadwood, The Twilight Zone, The Fall Guy, TJ Hooker, The A Team, Magnum PI, and even That 70's Show.
A full list of Al Leong's roles can be found on his Internet Movie Database page.
Vote for Al Leong's best performance
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Sad Rumors of Ill Health
Al Leong became noticeably more absent from TV and movie roles of late and the word on the grapevine is that he has been sadly having some health and personal problems - among them, a stroke which limited the use of his arm, a battle with food poisoning and a brain tumor. Mister Leong, wherever you are, on behalf of myself and a whole generation of action movie fans for whom you redefined the genre, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for entertaining us and to wish you a speedy recovery.
Al Leong Links
Want more Al? Try these tasty links:
- Internet Movie Database
- Al's complete internet movie database filmography
- Al Leong | Cinematic Legend
- Official fansite with bio, links and photos of Al Leong.
- Hall of Henchmen
- An examination of Al's character Uliin Die Hard.
- Biography on Bill and Ted fansite
- A short but sweet bio on the Bill and Ted fansite.
- Information page on Nationmaster.com
- Fabulous page detailing most of Al's roles and the deaths of his characters.
- Al Leong Action Figure
- Want your very own action figure of Al? He actually has one as Genghis Khan from Bill and Ted on this site.
Perfect Henchman (or Henchwoman) Attire
Al Leong movies on Amazon
Guestbook
If you're a fellow fan of Al Leong, please sign the guest book
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Federale
Feb 16, 2011 @ 8:36 pm | delete
- saw him in "I Come In Peace" and "Rapid Fire", definitely Asia's answer to Danny Trejo, should have his own "Machete" IMO
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J Hova
Oct 7, 2010 @ 1:12 pm | delete
- "Al Ka Bong" comes from the old Hannah Barbara cartoons featuring Quick Draw McGraw as his alter-ego, the Hispanic crime fighter "El Ka Bong".
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Brad Oltmann
Mar 25, 2010 @ 12:24 pm | delete
- Al is my favorite actor of all time! I'm halfway finished with my tattoo of Al, Gerald Okimura, Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa and James Hong.
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susannaduffy
Mar 26, 2009 @ 9:44 pm | delete
- I came back to read this again as I thought I'd seen Leong in a film on TV last night. Well, I saw this actor, and I was unsure if it were him, so I knew the best place to go was this lens of yours. Luckily, I had this bookmarked!
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a_willow
Jan 5, 2009 @ 3:22 am | delete
- You are one of October graduates! Come by and answer few questions to show the way to those who will follow! Wish you many, many more great lenses!
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